Bruins douse Flames in 2nd half

STOCKTON - After netting zero rushing yards in the first half, Bear Creek turned it around for 153 yards and four touchdowns in the second half to race away from Lodi 29-7 in a San Joaquin Athletic Association game on homecoming night at Podesto Field.

STOCKTON - After netting zero rushing yards in the first half, Bear Creek turned it around for 153 yards and four touchdowns in the second half to race away from Lodi 29-7 in a San Joaquin Athletic Association game on homecoming night at Podesto Field.

Bruins senior Djibril Sagna ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter, scoring from 71 and 22 yards to get Bear Creek's offense rolling.

Bruins senior Zach Merseth scored from 5 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter and sophomore Tong Vang broke free from several tacklers for a 22-yard score to help put the game out of reach.

"It's good to see the guys are starting to believe in themselves," said Bear Creek coach Reggie Camp, whose squad won its third game in a row and first at home this season. "We executed well in the second half in all three phases of the game."

Lodi junior quarterback David Simon converted a key 15-yard third-down pass in the first quarter to junior receiver Daniel Anaforian to the Flames' 28 and scampered around the right side for a 26-yard run into Bruins' territory.

Two plays later, Simon ran up the middle of the Bear Creek defense for a 40-yard touchdown. With Matt Whittock's kick, the Flames had a 7-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

Bear Creek (4-5, 3-1 SJAA) blocked a Simon punt late in the second quarter and Craig Perkins returned the ball to the Lodi 6, but the Bruins only managed a 30-yard field goal to trail 7-3 at the half before the second half rally.

"Our guys didn't crumble when (Simon) broke that big play," Camp said. "We had some guys step up for us and play well together. This was a total team win."

Simon led the Flames (4-5, 2-2) with 48 yards on 14 carries, but had a punt blocked and threw two interceptions.

as the offense struggled with several reserves on the field.

"Our defense played pretty well in the first half, but Bear Creek showed that they wanted it more in the second half," Flames coach Robert Perling said. "Their defense played lights out against us. (Camp) has done a great job with their program."